Battle for Azeroth: Blacksmithing Preview

Today I will take a look at how Blacksmithing will work in Battle for Azeroth. This is a part of a series of posts that looks at the professions in BfA and how they look from a gold making point of view.

Recipes and ranks

Once again we are still in the dark on how and where the recipes are obtained. The vast majority of the recipes have 3 ranks.

What can Blacksmiths craft?

So let’s first take a look at what blacksmiths can craft in BfA. The selection is very similar to former expansions with a focus on armor and weapons, with some interesting throw ins.

  • Weapons
  • Shields
  • Plate Armor
  • Utility items
  • Mounts

This list only contains the items that can actually be traded as we are focused on the gold making aspects of the profession.

Weapons

Blacksmiths get access to a wide variety of weapons in BfA. Both 111 and required level 120 weapons are on the list. You get access to most weapon archetypes and will be able to craft weapons that are relevant for the vast majority of specializations.

Overall the weapons crafts are looking good, and I expect these to sell well. The item levels are the same as other professions with the 120 versions representing a major step up compared to 119 gear.

Shields

Shields are sort of in between armor and weapons as an item. Obviously the market for shields is much smaller than for weapons, but I still expect there to be demand. It only really targets two specs with protection paladins and warriors being the only shield wearers.

I think the shields will be useful for these specs, but I don’t expect them to sell particularly well overall.

Plate Armor

As usual blacksmiths can craft armor. In the current database there are two armor sets, one for level 111 and one for level 120. As was the case in Legion i expect the armor to sell quite well and be a viable market for the vast majority of Battle for Azeroth. We have dived into the item level advantages of paying for items several times and the same holds true for the Blacksmithing armor.

Utility items

Blacksmiths get some new utility items in BfA. There are two consumables that upgrade your mount while active. For 2 hours you get 20% increased mount speed and can interact while mounted. Both of these will be VERY useful while doing world content. I expect both to be very good sellers.

In addition to the mount enhancements you can craft a skeleton key for unlocking lockboxes. These types of items have not been to impressive historically, but they can often be sold for some change.

Mounts

Blacksmiths craft the second part needed for the xiwyllag ATV. Combining Blacksmithing and Engineering will be crucial to really be competitive in this market, and as with any new mounts I expect it to sell well, particularly with the new mount collection achievements.

Overall Impression

Overall I think blacksmithing will be in a good place. Armor and weapons has historically been decent markets, even if they are usually eclipsed by markets like alchemy, enchanting and jewelcrafting. The new utility items and the mount are extra markets that look like they can provide a large amount of profit.

One of the advantages of Blacksmithing is the sheer variety of weapons with A LOT of potential crafts. This gives you a much wider array of potential customers and will absolutely help you maintain sales. Not too mention the fact that weapons are the most attractive slot to spend gold upgrading so weapon sales will be in a better place than the armor markets in Legion.

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4 thoughts on “Battle for Azeroth: Blacksmithing Preview

  1. So Blacksmith will be better with Mining to get bars cheaper, or with Engineer to focus on those mounts?

    Also having BS is always good for selling old expansion mogs (specially that fel iron sword that I forgot the name but the recipe is quite expensive)

    1. I would prefer engineering as I don’t farm at all. Mining could be good if you enjoy it, but I think pure crafter is always more optimal.

      The felsteel longblade sword is great, I’ve been making a lot of them lately.

    1. I haven’t seen any crafted warglaives. At this point I’m assuming DHs use the same weapon classes as other classes, but I haven’t tested it or checked it. A separate weapon type only used by one class would create a ton of loot balancing issues I think blizz would prefer to avoid.

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